‘A thing of beauty is a joy forever,’ Ann Demeulemeester replies when addressing the question of how the objects we choose to surround ourselves with – whether it’s a top or a teacup – impact our lives. The famous Oscar Wilde quote holds true for the Belgian fashion designer with her enduring broody aesthetic, a member of the Antwerp Six cohort, who departed from her namesake brand’s helm in 2014.
It was a life overhaul of sorts. In an effort to close that creative chapter of her life, she moved away from her Antwerp home – Maison Guiette, the house where her son Victor now lives and the only Le Corbusier structure left in Belgium – and into a 19th century country house with a floral park and a vegetable garden located on the outskirts of the province of Antwerp.
‘I wanted to return to the essence of things’, she explains. ‘Nature, growing my own vegetables. Make beautiful objects in which to present them.’ This impulse translated itself into a collection of homewares – porcelain plates and cutlery, glassware – produced with the Belgian company Serax, which will be presented in September at Maison et Objet in Paris.
Demeulemeester turned to the classical elements of earth, water and fire, to ‘experiment with one of the oldest forms of creation.’ The designer had always dreamed of using porcelain and glass as a creative language, and the three-dimensional aspect of sculpting clay was a natural continuation of her very personal creative hunger.
The idea to conceive of homeware lines with Serax took shape after a mutual friend introduced her to the dynamic Belgian company, which is based just 20 minutes from her new home. ‘Much more pleasant than having to take a plane abroad each time’, Demeulemeester tells. ‘We developed a respectful partnership through which I could fully realise my ideas and designs. For Serax, it was a huge challenge to produce my unique pieces on a larger scale, while retaining the craftsmanship.’
The interplay of light and shadow ties the Ra and Dé lines of tableware and the Zoë line of cutlery together, as well as echoing Demeulemeester’s intensely chiaroscuro fashion oeuvre – with red and green as the unexpected accents. ‘My whole life I’ve been preoccupied with beauty. It’s my passion, my “raison d’être”’, Demeulemeester explains. ‘I enjoy being able to make whatever it is I need, what challenges me, what I dream of’.
INFORMATION
anndemeulemeester.com; serax.com
-
‘Concrete Dreams’: rethinking Newcastle’s brutalist pastA new project and exhibition at the Farrell Centre in Newcastle revisits the radical urban ideas that changed Tyneside in the 1960s and 1970s
-
Mexican designers show their metal at Gallery Collectional, Dubai‘Unearthing’ at Dubai’s Gallery Collectional sees Ewe Studio designers Manu Bañó and Héctor Esrawe celebrate Mexican craftsmanship with contemporary forms
-
At The Manner, New York has a highly fashionable new living roomThe Manner, a new hopsitality experience by Standard International in the heart of SoHo, triples up as a hotel, private residence, and members’ club
-
Glassware sets for every occasionOur edit of contemporary glassware sets, from everyday kitchen glassware to dinner party-appropriate wine and cocktail glasses, by the best designers and makers
-
Lauren Manoogian rocks on with earthy glassware collaborationBrooklyn-based slow fashion-focused designer Lauren Manoogian has teamed up with Paris maker Lætitia Jacquetton on a series of vases created from glass blown around rocks
-
Roman ruins inspire these tables from Brussels-based Cobra StudiosCobra Studios' breakthrough collection of roman-inspired tables
-
A new dawn of Polish design rises at Maison et Objet -
Rethinking the anatomy of crystal glassware with Nigel Peake and J. Hill’s Standard -
Nendo unveils gravity-formed Melt furniture for WonderGlass
-
Neuschwanstein Castle’s servants’ kitchen inspire new utilitarian Belgian design -
Star cast: The Bouroullec brothers create alcoves and cylindrical vessels for WonderGlass in Milan
